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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28711809">golden, like daylight</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NikitaHawkeye/pseuds/NikitaHawkeye'>NikitaHawkeye</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Psycho-Pass</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Post-PP3, Wishful Thinking, kidding there is sibyl we just glossed over it, no sibyl just fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 10:08:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,125</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28711809</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/NikitaHawkeye/pseuds/NikitaHawkeye</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>a courtship.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kougami Shinya/Tsunemori Akane</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>90</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. meet me in the afterglow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <b><em>1. meet me in the afterglow</em> </b>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>She had a free month to herself.</p><p> </p><p>The proverbial calm before the storm, and Akane intended to take full advantage of this short window of peace before all hell broke loose. A long overdue shopping spree first, dark basements and a totalitarian set of brains later.  The Sibyl System and its pretentious bullshit can wait for another day or two. This set of pretty teacups on sale couldn’t. </p><p> </p><p>The towering man beside her chuckled at her enthusiasm over ceramic wares, and Akane tried to contain her glee as she pulled him towards the display. </p><p> </p><p>That’s right.</p><p> </p><p>She finally had Kogami Shinya all to herself. </p><p> </p><p>Or at least for a month, with the aid of his rest days and vacation leaves. Maybe a little more from Hanashiro’s benevolence, too. Akane didn’t know how he pulled it off, and she isn’t too keen to ask, but Kogami has been spending the past few days showing up at her doorstep and serving as her chauffeur to different locations each day. Last week, he took her to an observatory on Mt. Inasa. The following day, she found herself on a boat ride to Iojima, a picnic box by her side and a grinning Kogami rowing the boat himself. During the weekend, it was a trip to his mother’s house in Chiyoda. </p><p> </p><p>In between the light-hearted meals and exchanges of stories, Akane didn’t miss the not-so-subtle nudging and the hushed “are you together yet?” when Tomoyo thought she was out of earshot. </p><p> </p><p>Funny how the one thing they have been avoiding to discuss can be summarized in four words. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Are they together yet? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>In a manner of speaking, they <em> are </em> together. Together in the way they enter establishments shoulder to shoulder, or in the way they huddle on the front seat of his car during their long drives, or in the simple, amazing fact that they have been each other’s constant company for over a week now. </p><p> </p><p>If there is another definition of that (if the teasing tone of Kogami’s mother is to be taken seriously), Akane tried not to think too much about it. </p><p> </p><p>After all, despite spending sleepless nights in the same hotel room and eating lunch together by the sea and laughing at some inside joke while their elbows brushed on the bar table and gazing wordlessly at the beautiful scenery (and then at each other), Kogami has kept his distance and his hands to himself so far, and so should she. </p><p> </p><p>Despite the complete and utter bliss they have both been swimming in for the past days, Akane knew the two of them were still toeing around delicate matters.</p><p> </p><p>Her self-control has once been described as exemplary, but as she listens to Kogami make fun of the tackiness of the faux Royal Alberts on display, she found it was getting more and more difficult to resist throwing all caution to the wind and kiss him senselessly instead.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. it's you and me, that's my whole world</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <b><em>2. it’s you and me,</em> <em>that’s my whole world</em></b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We still have to</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span> oi, Kogami, where are you going?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t bother. I think he’s keeping a girl in the countryside or something. Have you seen how fast he drives off the moment he clocks out?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Guy’s a recluse… I’ve never seen him with anyone outside work. Maybe he’s just tired. What do you think, Ginoza, Sugou? You guys live in the same building as him.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ginoza gave a knowing smile, with Sugou already making a surreptitious exit behind him. “Who knows.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Traffic in Dejima has been especially horrible lately, with the population of immigrants continuously doubling up as the isolation policy weakens down. Kogami usually does not mind being stuck in a traffic jam. He would normally light up a cigarette and marvel at the reality of him driving unsupervised on the streets of Japan, with no steel shackle around his wrist and no disembodied electronic voice constantly droning in his ears, but tonight, he’s running late. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It’s ten minutes to eight, and Kogami cursed his luck as the lights switched to red again before his car could even approach the intersection. He eyed the boxed ramen beside him, dimly thought it’s probably cold now, then proceeded to tap incessantly on the steering wheel out of frustration. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He looked up and caught the sight of his reflection on the rear-view mirror. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shit, has he always looked this disheveled? </span>
  </em>
  <span>He probably would have no time to change clothes. With a quick flick of wrist, he fixed his collar and swept his hair up in a presentable manner. A quick trip to the florist would have been nice, but he quickly halted that line of thought. The silliness of it all made him chuckle. Why is he acting like a</span>
  <em>
    <span>—</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Like a teenager on his first date, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but the lights were already green, so Kogami stepped on the accelerator and floored it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He finally slammed his apartment door open five minutes after eight, a little out of breath as he kicked off his shoes carelessly somewhere near the rug. His terminal started ringing, which only served to aggravate his frantic movements while he tried to multitask. The food box balanced precariously on his left arm, and he did not even bother to take off his jacket as he dashed across the kitchen to grab</span>
  <em>
    <span>—</span>
  </em>
  <span> fuck it, whatever it is he could in one trip. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Stupid, stupid, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he inwardly chanted when he almost dropped the plate while he tried to set everything down gingerly. Three lates in a row, and he briefly wondered if there would be a next time after this.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With the cold ramen finally unboxed and the utensils arranged neatly on the table, he took a deep breath, whipped his lighter out, then lit the green scented candle in front of his meal. The last one was an idea from Gino, who, for some unknown reason, kept on yammering on his ears about how perfect dates should be. It was probably stupid, almost as stupid as the idea of buying flowers for an occasion that was supposed to be a simple nightly dinner between old friends. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Old friends. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Is that what they are?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The clock struck ten minutes after eight, and Kogami let out one shaky curse as he finally answered the call. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"You're late."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Akane's image slowly appeared across the table, her hand propped on her chin and her eyebrow raised as she tried to conceal an amused smile at his harried form. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She looks decidedly much more at ease, he noted as he eyed her fresh face, painted lips, and then the open buttons on the upper part of her shirt. Hell, she looked </span>
  <em>
    <span>perfect, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and… and he should probably stop gawking too much, so he guiltily raised his gaze almost too quickly, plenty of lame excuses already on hand.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The apology died in his tongue when he saw the look on her face. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her brown eyes were widened with surprise, the “o” of her lips slowly curving into a pleasant smile as she eyed the burning candle in the middle of the table. Akane’s face was </span>
  <em>
    <span>lighting up, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and Kogami finally allowed himself to smile back, inwardly sighing in relief that he at least did one thing right tonight.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe the candle wasn’t such a bad idea after all...</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. darling, i fancy you</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>
    <em> 3. darling, i fancy you</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>“Hello?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hello? Tsunemori? This is Tsunemori, right?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was a small scuffle on the other line, sounding almost like a hushed argument drowned out by jazz music playing in the background. Akane looked at the clock on her bedside and rubbed her eyes. Two in the morning. Too early for anything. Too early for a familiar but slurring voice to be making a social call to her. She finally glanced at the caller ID, already mentally preparing a stern lecture about phone call etiquettes to whoever dared—</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> ...Kogami Shinya? </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Wait, she would recognize his voice anywhere, and that didn’t sound like… <em>oh</em>. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Is this… Ginoza-san?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Good, you’re awake. Listen… listen...”  Akane listened. And waited.  A distant round of snickers broke the silence, and she was starting to get suspicious and a little impatient. “Ginoza-san, are you—”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We have something to tell you, Tsunemori-san.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Another voice came through the speaker, the graveness in his tone decidedly mismatched with the suppressed laughter that Akane was pretty sure she heard only a few moments ago. “Sugou-san, what’s happening? Where is Kogami-san?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“About that…” Sugou trailed off, and there was no mistaking that there was someone shushing him in the background. Akane’s eyes narrowed. “You see, Kogami-san… Kogami-san, he’s…”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She sat up abruptly, fully awake now. “He’s what, Sugou-san?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“He’s in lo—”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What the hell are you doing with my phone?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kogami’s booming voice cut off whatever Sugou was trying to say, and she’s almost positive she has connected the dots at this point. At five past two in the morning. All of them sleep-deprived, only one of them awake against her own will. She heard a longer and louder scuffle on the other line, maybe a few breaking bottles and some incoherent yelling... and decided she needed a drink, too. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Shit… Akane?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She gasped; she didn’t know why. She hears his voice almost every night, but hearing her name being spoken by his guttural voice never fails to turn her spine ramrod straight and her knees a puddle of jelly. <em> Anyways. </em> “...Yes?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m really sorry those idiots interrupted your sleep. ” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She smiled, suppressing a yawn. “No problem. Glad to know you guys are having fun. You can make up for it by telling me all about it someday.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He laughed softly, and Akane slowly feels herself forgiving the other two for the entire thing. He sounded a little bashful; she could almost imagine the light hunch of his shoulders and his hand on his nape, and what she wouldn’t give for a video feed instead.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Bashful. <em> Only for her, </em>her traitorous mind added, but it’s literally too early to be presumptuous. </p>
<p> </p>
<p> “Anyway…” She hears shifting in the background, and the loud jazz music faded significantly. He must have stepped out. “Did they tell you anything,” he coughed, “weird?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was a tinge of apprehension in his voice. This almost made Akane say “yes,” just to hear how he would react. She eventually decided against it, because the intrigue she felt was not enough to tease him at two in the morning. “Define weird."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A fair question if she may say so herself. It's not like there's anything usual in tonight's incident. He's going to have to be a little more specific.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Uh, nothing really," he says a little too quickly, giving her the idea that it wasn't really <em> nothing, </em>"Nevermind that. You doing anything interesting Friday night?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She knows that he already knew the answer to that, but she played along anyway. "Let me see… I have a hot date with an overdue monthly statistics report." </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"So nothing." </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"That depends. You have a counter-offer?" </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I heard there's a newly-opened cafe five blocks away from your office. I also heard they have those fancy latte cocktails you like so much."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A different setting from their usual. She raised her eyebrow at that. "Wouldn't really be fun if I'm the only one who gets to taste it… Wait," she swallowed, transferring the phone to her other ear, "you're coming here?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Yeah. Official SAD business. We're flying back Saturday morning, so."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Oh. Okay," she fidgeted, already feeling the rush of blood on her cheeks. A night with Kogami Shinya, in flesh, after months and months of digital dinners and good morning calls.<em> You spent a whole month gallivanting around Japan with him, and now you're suddenly shy at the thought of a coffee date? Get a grip. </em> "Speaking of," she cleared her throat, dismissing her thoughts to focus on the matter at hand, "How are they? They sounded like they had something urgent to tell me. You didn't actually fight, did you?" </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was his turn to clear his throat. "They'll live," he spat, almost viciously. "And you didn't tell me your answer."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I'll go if you're bringing some of those really fluffy castellas we had last time I was there." </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"As long as you promise to wear that nice red dress you have."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I—" Well. She didn't expect <em> that. </em>"Okay," she said carefully, willing her heartbeat to go a little slower, "okay, you have a deal. See you Friday?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"See you Friday. Good night, Akane."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was a strange cacophony of whooping and whistling noises on the other end of the line before Kogami was able to end the call, but Akane didn't pay any heed to that. She scrambled out of her bed, almost tripping as she made a beeline to her closet. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Where did I put that dress again?  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>shinkane and taylor swift? it's more likely than you think.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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